I Love Books

I love reading and one of my life goals has been to have a home library that covers as many subjects as possible. My wife and I have been mostly successful in this regard. Our library has taken over our living room and includes extensive and eclectic selections on religion, the sciences, art, gardening, geography, history, world cultures, architecture, theater and (of course) music.

Now comes confirmation that this endeavour was not simply hubris or whimsy. According to a study in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, children growing up in homes with a large library of books will do better in school and go farther in life.

The study states that children who grow up surrounded by books are 20 percent more likely to finish college than those who do not and that kids living in a home with a library of 500 books get 3.2 more years of education than his or her peer raised in a book-less home.

I always knew that buying all these books was a good idea. Now I know why.